9:00
- Dude needs help getting his friend to [nearby state] and out of dude's basement because dude's wife is getting increasingly annoyed with friend living in their basement -- fifteen minutes of trying to come up with suggestions for him, and generally listening to the dude vent. Another patron pokes he head around a pillar 10 feet away and sighs heavily before sitting back down at his computer....
- ....so once dude leaves, I ask The Sigher if he needs help. His reply: "What, did that guy just come in to socialize?" I reply that he needed help and it was a complicated situation (which this guy CERTAINLY could hear), and it is my job to help people. "He's been talking for 10 minutes!" ??? Well, people do talk.... "This is why I come in here early!" [??? WTF JUST HAPPENED?? Bah humbug to you too, asswipe *]
- Several reserve requests arrive from ILL person
- Railroad magazines ("wailwoad"--it's definitely early!) [Model Railroad is perfect, yay]
- Property tax bills for homes in sunbelt state [actually, first I looked up her card number, but eventually it just seemed easier to do the whole thing for her]-- she even pays me for printing without me having to remind her
- ...waiting for The Sigher to get all bent out of shape about two women working together on a computer across the reference area; there is instruction going on, and not particularly silently....
- Help with getting into Word [to type her annual Christmas letter, just like last year and, apparently, the year before that!]
- Local weekly paper
- Pay to print
3:00 in children's room
- The day hasn't improved since I left the desk this morning, so I'm just trying to hang on at this point
- "Why is my card blocked?" [no parent's name in Guardian field, and fines of more than $6]
- Worried 8- or 9-year-old notices her mom has left the room, can't find her, didn't hear her say she'd be back in "15 minutes"...is concerned, even though her stuff is all here -- aah, here she comes!
- Bathroom key
- Those are crafts to take home -- "Can I take two?"
- "How much was that fine?" asks the kid from earlier
- Keys for cleaning dude
- ...and back
4:00 in children's room
- There is card-playing going on at one of the tables across from me: Go Fish, I think
- ...they've moved on to War
- Just realized I'm freezing!!
- Bathroom key
- "Where do I return books?" [at circulation, which you walked past] Oh, duh. "What about my daughter's first library card picture?" [still hanging on the wall--he finds it] "OK, good, now I'll go back over and return these and head to Santa's hut to get it warm for him and the kids tonight." [I love living in a small town!!]
_____________
* Mind you, this hits a little harder today anyway, since at my review on Wednesday I was told to keep the chatter in the workroom down, and also to "treat the staff the way you treat the patrons" i.e., keep my anger in check. So, yeah, asswipe...you're lucky your a patron, or I guess I'd probably rip you to pieces. Cuz apparently I do that to staff.
